A woman's body and a man's opinion

"The female body is thirsting for words. A man's words". That is the premise of a new and predictably controversial Danish show that aired this past April and May.

Over a period of six weeks the show eponymously titled Blachman, the brain-child of Thomas Blachman a noted jazz musician and host of the X Factor (Danish version) ran to much comment and censure.

In the few clips of the X Factor that I saw, Blachman who favours acerbic commentary comes across as a Danish version of Simon Cowell, hardly making him the ideal host (if such a thing exists) of the show called Blachman.

Show

However it was his attempt to create a space between pornography and puritanism that inspired him to conceptualise it. The set up is rather basic; two men sit on a couch in an all black studio when a woman in a black satin robe walks in and disrobes under a spotlight. And there she stands, naked, to be judged for the length of the show by Blachman and his male guest (writer, singer, comedian etc) of the week. The women are not allowed to speak. The men do all the talking, passing unreserved comments on the woman's body.

One may ask how this show even made it to television. But Denmark has some of the most liberal censorship laws in the world; in fact as per the Danish constitution, censorship is prohibited: "Any person shall be at liberty to publish his ideas in print, in writing, and in speech, subject to his being held responsible in a court of law. Censorship and other preventive measures shall never again be introduced".

The show is broadcast by a public service channel DR2 and has been commissioned by a woman, who is rather matter of fact in her stated logic - men talk about women and their bodies.

Reception

So the point is really not about how outrageous this show is - women and journalists have gone hammer and tongs at it, especially in the international media. But why it exists at all. What is interesting is that a few young Danish feminists, when interviewed by the TV show, Dateline, had little problem with it. While others are trying to decide between whether this is the most sexist show ever created or a thoughtful deliberation on the female body, these young women are almost amused by it.

Particularly I assume by Blachman's rather earnest introduction to the show, where he reveals a heart felt dilemma, that of a man who suffers from "too much pornography" on one hand and "too much puritanical political correctness" on the other. Where is the poetry? he asks, his bald pate glowing under the same spot light. It certainly isn't to be found in the comment - "I am an a** man" and other such thought provoking dribbles. But never mind that.

What is it that is so upsetting about this show? How is it any different from a beauty pageant where women walk down a runway to be evaluated on how good they look in a swimsuit? Or reality television series, like model hunts, where girls are judged on everything from the size of their waists to the arch of their necks? Is it the nudity that bothers most people? Or is it the host's gumption that a man's opinion on the female body really does matter, to women.

Questions

These are interesting questions but do they open up the dialogue as Blachman suggests? Taking the unarticulated that exists between men and women and verbalising it without fear of judgment? The lurking "boys will be boys" attitude does undervalue the effort but setting that aside is this sort of verbalisation necessary? It is in the quest for equality between the genders wherein lies some of the tendency to obliterate or obfuscate the differences.

In many ways it is the fastest way of achieving some sense of equality, but could this be a disservice then to the natural balance that needs to and can exist between men and women, some sort of "ideal state" between the genders; a balance that emerges not from sameness but from disparity especially the one that is most obvious, that of our bodies?

These are questions that will clearly not be answered in the short term or in one season of a show but as Blachman gets ready to launch Season Two, he does seem a little peeved by all the criticism. In his opinion he brought something to television that no one has ever seen and people are just plain "ungrateful". Leaving one wondering if he just lost the argument for more open conversations to his need for "popular" television.